Restrict power of speakers

[Eldario]

Good morning/afternoon
I got myself in possession of a pair of def techs DM80s and I am experimenting with amps, dacs, hdmi splitters, extractors and streamers in a small apartment.
I know the speakers are too big for my space but I got them and Yamaha as 801 for very little $.
I have a toddler too
My question is

Is there a device I can insert before speakers to limit power so I don’t blow my windows and eardrums by accidentally cranking up volume?

Thank you

 

[Vincent Kars]

You might try a hard limiter

 

[Waxx]

You won't blow the speakers with that amp, they can handle 300w and your amp is only 100w rms. You got speaker volume controls like the ones i linked, but in general they add distortion, so not so good for sound.

200W Volume Control Attenuators | Lowell Manufacturing

200W mono autoformer attenuator-style volume control with rotary switch and one-gang wall plate from Lowell Manufacturing.

www.lowellmfg.com

Better is to keep the amp out of reach of your todler and turn the volume down before you put it on.

 

[Eldario]

I liked when I was able to limit sound volume in avr with settings

I’m gonna need to install interlock as well with breathalyzer so I don’t play with the amp after couple of beers. Haha

 

[Oddball]

Toddlers are mall creatures and at that age most of their power is focused on breaking things, which is equivalent of exploring at that age. So good luck. I'd say you are safe with a power switch until they figure it out. Beyond that age probably they will lose the interest in the system.

 

[popej]

Set speaker impedance to low, this will reduce max power a bit. (Do it with amp turned off.)

 

[Eldario]

Any chance I can use in-line fuse?

 

[Spkrdctr]

Any chance I can use in-line fuse?

You could. Heck you can engineer al kinds of crazy stuff. Only limited by your wallet.

 

[Mr. Swordfish]

You won't blow the speakers with that amp, they can handle 300w and your amp is only 100w rms. You got speaker volume controls like the ones i linked, but in general they add distortion, so not so good for sound.

200W Volume Control Attenuators | Lowell Manufacturing

200W mono autoformer attenuator-style volume control with rotary switch and one-gang wall plate from Lowell Manufacturing.

www.lowellmfg.com

Better is to keep the amp out of reach of your todler and turn the volume down before you put it on.

It might seem counter intuitive, but an underpowered amp can be more likely to blow a speaker than an overpowered one.

When an amp distorts, the distortion artifacts are high frequency harmonics and when dispatched to the tweeter can overwhelm it. It's one of the reasons why pro sound has been using active crossovers for 50 years or so.

 

[Mr. Swordfish]

Any chance I can use in-line fuse?

A 1 amp fuse will blow at 8 watts with an 8 ohm speaker. A 2 amp fuse will let you get to 32 watts, which is more than the typical listening level. So, yeah. I have a pair of speakers with fuses on the tweeters. Haven't blown them yet...

I'd use a circuit breaker instead of a fuse so you don't have to change it if it blows.

 

[Mr. Swordfish]

Set speaker impedance to low, this will reduce max power a bit. (Do it with amp turned off.)

You have speakers that allow you to easily adjust the impedance? Interesting...

Anyway, lowering the impedance will increase the power drawn from the amp, all other things being equal.

 

[Eldario]

A 1 amp fuse will blow at 8 watts with an 8 ohm speaker. A 2 amp fuse will let you get to 32 watts, which is more than the typical listening level. So, yeah. I have a pair of speakers with fuses on the tweeters. Haven't blown them yet...

I'd use a circuit breaker instead of a fuse so you don't have to change it if it blows.

Amp is set to 4 ohms

I’ll get a handful of 2 amp fuses if you guys confirm

 

[popej]

You have speakers that allow you to easily adjust the impedance? Interesting...

It's amp, that has speaker impedance selector...

 

[tineared]

Amp is set to 4 ohms

I’ll get a handful of 2 amp fuses if you guys confirm

I believe you are over-thinking it.
Unless you are very seriously drunk and preoccupied with something else, you will clearly hear your speakers distorting long before you fry them.
As for the toddler, simply hide a power switch somewhere out of sight so they don't know how to turn it on.

 

[Eldario]

There is also a scenario of wife playing with knobs trying to watch tv

So at this point I have a question

What’s the value of in-line fuse I should get ?
Amplifier set to 4ohms
Please

 

[john61ct]

Anything you put in the path will have an impact on sound quality.

Either train your wife properly

or put in a separate cheap soundbar as the default "system" and switch over to the audiophile stuff when you are the one in control.

That said, there are preamp / sources like Wiim Ultra and WU Amp where you can set the max voltage into the power amp, no matter what the user does on the volume control.

 

[Eldario]

I am playing with wiim ultra now.
It is going to be duct tape over volume knob on AS 801 and use only the knob on wiim

I heard it would be better for sound quality if Yamaha vol knob would be max and use wiim vol knob and settings

 

[john61ct]

If you set the Ultra max voltage output limiting when the Yamaha amp is already at maximum

then no need for ugly duct tape, the amp knob can only attenuate - i.e. make the system go more quiet.

And of course all your inputs must go through the Wiim.

You also have per-input gain-control so your different sources are level matched.

If those sources also have volume controls, do all the above tuning, with them ALSO set to maximum, so any messing about on that side also can only attenuate.

 

[Eldario]

This voltage limiter prolly does not work on USB out which I was enjoying so far

 

[john61ct]

You have it right in front of you!

What are you sending the USB to?

Volume Limit (in percent) under audio settings applies to the USB output, works the same in effect as the voltage limiter.

And why not go analog into the amp? Doing that should ADD to your enjoyment if you are anxious about protecting your speakers.

Nothing should be higher priority than Peace of Mind